ICC Test Rankings: Kumar Sangakkara overtakes AB de Villiers at the top after double century at Galle
Sri Lankan stalwart Kumar Sangakkara has risen to the number one spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings after a superlative showing in the Galle Test against Pakistan, where he struck his 10th double century to inspire the hosts to a thrilling victory over the Misbah-ul-Haq led side.
The 36-year-old has been enjoying an Indian summer with the bat this year, having scored 1350 runs at an average of 84.37 in the longest format of the game. His 211 at the Galle International Stadium was his fourth century in 2014, to go with a triple century and century against Bangladesh at Chittagong and a 147 which got his name on the honour’s board at Lord’s.
Sangakkara overtook AB de Villiers at the top of the rankings, with the South African relinquishing the top spot for the first time since October 2013. The 30-year-old’s Test captain Hashim Amla retains his third spot on the table, with Australian opener David Warner making up the top four.
Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews, who has been one of the best Test performers this year, sees himself break into the top five for the first time in his career. With a batting average of 94.85 this summer, Mathews has been an integral part of the Sri Lankan team that registered its first ever series win in England in June and took the island nation home against Pakistan scoring 25* from just 13 balls in the fourth innings on Sunday.
Cheteshwar Pujara has dropped two places but still remains the highest ranked Indian batsmen in the rankings, coming in at the 12th position. The Saurashtra batsmen’s struggles have been mirrored by that of Virat Kohli, who has dropped five places and makes up the rear in the top 20.
Ajinkya Rahane, the other member of India’s middle-order, follows suit having dropped 8 places and is now listed 34th in the rankings released on Sunday.
The top 10 are as follows:
| Rank | Player | Team | Ratings |
| 1 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 920 |
| 2 | AB de Villiers | South Africa | 899 |
| 3 | Hashim Amla | South Africa | 878 |
| 4 | David Warner | Australia | 871 |
| 5 | Angelo Mathews | Sri Lanka | 862 |
| 6 | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | West Indies | 854 |
| 7 | Michael Clarke | Australia | 818 |
| 8 | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 805 |
| 9 | Ross Taylor | New Zealand | 795 |
| 10 | Younus Khan | Pakistan | 793 |